Requiem of The Past
by Gatecrasher12
Summary: The powers of Light opens the Gates of Time and allows Cloud a second chance to change his destiny. Slight Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Fantasy VII crossover but mostly FFVII.
1. Gate of Time

_**Requiem of The Past**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the fanfic. All characters and/or places are the property of Square Enix and Disney.**

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There were so many things in life Sora felt unhappy with. Things he was unsatisfied with, such as places, events, and people. Of course most of those things weren't techniqually his problem or business to begin with. But since he was a 'meddler' as so many poeple had called him, he took on the problems of others and made their business his own, if only to lighten or completely take away their burdens. That was just how the young Key Bearer was. He absalutely hated seeing others in pain, especially when he knew them and had the power and means to help. He simply could not leave them alone until he could rectify the problem, or at least made some kind of effort to try to help. 

Riku would shake his head with an exasperated smirk before he would tease Sora about his idealistic views on life. But Riku would also turn around and say "_Never let go of that optimism. It's part of your light that guides the lost people in the dark._" or something along those lines.

Kairi would also say something like that, all the while giving him an approving smile, her eyes telling him she understood him.

This was also the reason why Sora was where he was now, in Radiant Garden visiting. There was something he wanted/had to do for a certain friend and there was no way '_it_' would leave him alone if he didn't do it. Looking around, Sora could see the many members of the Restoration Crew putting up the finishing touches around town. The only major project left would be the reconstruction of the castle. It had already been torn down to its skeleton and corner stones. Certain unpleasent rooms had been destroyed and Ansem's lab and study had been picked clean of anything that could be salvaged. The central computer room where the main frame computer that held Tron had been taken apart and moved so it could later be put back together and reconnected to Cid's computer. Now they were reconstructing it, building it back up to its former shining glory.

Sora quickly weaved through the town's market place, dodging shoppers and fruit and vegtable carts, as he made his way to Merlin's house. The venders were much more energetic and wily than the last time he was here. Maybe it was because there were little to no Heartless and Nobodies left lurking around in the shadows ready to ravish their wears.

When the young black clad warrior did make it to the old wizard's home he rapped the door several times before pushing the door open and walking in. "Hey guys!"

A moment later three little pixies flew by waving a Munny purse tauntingly in the air with an angry konuichi hot on their tails. "You little theives! Give me back my Munny!" Yuffie yelled as she tried to corner the Gullwings.

"As if you could talk." Paine usual monotone, albeit smirking voice called as she flew up to ceilling and tossed the pouch to Rikku.

Catching it, Rikku yelled, "Yeah! Takes a theif to know a theif!" The tiny, perky blond dodged to the right as Yuffie made a grab for her and chucked the purse to Yuna.

The Gullwing leader giggled lightly as she caught the bag. "We are treasure hunters after all and Munny is treasure." With that the three took off out the door and passed Sora saying, "Hi Sora, bye Sora!"

Yuffie ran after them, aslo saying, "Hey Sora! Be right back!" as she passed.

The brunette watched as the Gullwings played a sort of 'Monkey-In-The-Middle" game with Yuffie. Sora smirked at their recurring antics before walking further into the house.

Cid, who had been muttering obscenities under his breath about 'bratty ninjas' and 'annoying fairies', greeted Sora. "Well, if it isn't the little-man-who-could." Sora frowned at the 'little' part. "What cha' doin' here?"

"Nothing much, just checking up on everyon in all the worlds. Can't be too careful, right?"

Cid nodded. "I hear ya."

"So, where is everyone anyway?"

The blond shugged. "That crazy old coot wen' out to Travers Town to see that Godmother lady. Leon's over at the castle reconstuction site. Tifa n' Aerith wen' out to the market, ya jus' saw the brat an' the fairies, an' Cloud..." Cid tapped his chin in thought. "... I reckon Spikehead went to the Ravine." Cid frowned as he said that.

Sora, being ever curious asked, "Is something wrong?"

The Gummi Ship builder chewed on the end of a cigarette as he crossed his arms. "Not really, jus' wondering bout Cloud. He's been spendin' a whole mess o' days there after that time he faught Sephiroth."

Sora pursed his lips at the name. This was also part of the reason he was in Radiant Garden but he wasn't about to say anything... at least, not yet. Good thing the others would be too far away to stumble onto his plans too early. That would be bad. "Alright Cid, I'm gonna go poke around town for a while. See ya." with that the thirteen-year-old left.

* * *

Cloud sighed as he stared across the oddly blue colored ravine. He had been sitting here for the better part of four hours now and have yet to make a move to leave. The blond picked absently at the white stip of cloth that tightly wrapped around the blade of his First Tsurugi Sword. He hadn't bothered to remove the binding cloth ever since he first stepped foot into this alien world. Contrary to what most have come to believe, he, Cid, Tifa, and Yuffie weren't natives of Radiant Garden. Cloud wasn't all too sure about Leon, but he had a sneaking suspicion he was no different. Non of them ever spoke much of their past lives. For some of them it was just far too painful. 

The group had arrived separately in the near same fashion as someone being thrown through Innerspace would a little after the whole ordeal with the Tsviets and Deepground SOLDIERs.

Cloud had yet to see Vincent, Barret, Nanaki, or Reeve and Cait Sith, the remaining members of AVALANCHE, or even Denzel and Marlene. He hoped the kids were okay. He knew Marlene would be fine, she had her father after all, but Cloud had been quite alarmed to see Tifa, Denzel' big sister/mother like figure, when she showed up. Hopefully the boy was with Barret too. Even Vincent of Reeve would do.

The supposed ex-SOLDIER still found it a little uncomfortable to have Aerith around. She wasn't _his_ Aerith, the one he knew from Midgar. That flower maiden had died, he wittnessed her die and saw her to her grave. This Aerith was someone else. A double, an alternate version of the last Ancient who had the same kind personality but no prior knowlegde of him and the others up until several years ago.

Cloud looked up at the sky. _'Today's the Anniversary.'_ he thought solemnly to himself. _'It's been nearly seaven years now. But it still hurts, I thought time heals all wounds.'_

"What's got you down?"

The blond jumped and whirled around to see Sora looking down at him. Cloud frowned. The older man didn't like to be taken by surprise. He must have been seriously out of it if someone like Sora could get the jump on him. Cloud eyed the younger teen for a moment. Usually the bright Key Bearer was all smiles and almost inhumanly energetic when ever they met. The boy's bouncy attitude had strongly reminded Cloud of _him_ before he left his life. Today, however, he seemed to have reigned in his usual cheerful hyperactiveness, showing his serious side. Cloud had to remind himself that for all of Sora's naive, innocent simplicity, he was still a hardening warrior who faught against the darkness more offten than not.

The older swordsman gave the boy a curt nod in greeting. "Nothing..."

Sora seemed to frown slightly at the answer. Cloud couldn't help but to notice the odd gleam in the brunette's expressive blue eyes.

"... Thinking about Zackary Fair?"

Cloud's mako eyes snapped up to Sora who seemed to look past him at the castle reconstruction site. "How do you know that name?" the blond demanded, his voice almost a low growl, as he stood. He knew he never gave that name to Sora or told anyone of the owner of that name.

Sora glanced at Cloud as the man towered over him. If this was some kind of intimidation act, it definately wasn't working. Sora had learned not to show fear to Cloud, or anyone else for that matter, a long time ago. However Sora had to think bout how to answer that question. He could be truthful and sound like he lost his mind, or he could lie and make Cloud mad. Since he was neither good at or liked lieing, he went with the truth. "The Voice told me about him."

Cloud gave the boy a weird look. "I beg your pardon?"

"The Voice told me." Sora repeated. "Don't ask me what I mean cause I bearly have a clue about it myself." In the boy's hand appeard the Keyblade. "See, when I first got the Keyblade I was being swallowed up by the darkness. There was this weird voice saying not to give in to it, a bright light came out of nowhere and then the Keyblade appeared." Sora lifted the blade between them and looked at the odd weapon. "I had heard the voice once before that, in a dream I had two days before the Heartless came to my island."

The dark blond could only nod. He had once wondered how Sora could have possibly obtained the Keyblade but never asked. Now that he knew it wasn't such a mystery. The voice, as far as he could guess, was the voice of the Light talking to the boy. But now Cloud could only wonder why Sora was explaining all this to him and what Zack had to do with any of it.

Regular crystaline blue eyes lifted to Mako lit blue eyes. "The voice talked to me again, it asked me to help the one who is teetering between the darkness and the light."

As soon as Sora said this, a bright flash of light blinked into existence. Cloud had to sheild his eyes from its intensity. When he could open his eyes again, Cloud saw a set of white marble double-doors that were as tall as a three story building and as wide as a truck was long with stain glass windows of various colors standing a few feet away from Sora. The doors had no door knobs or handles and were bound shut by thick silvery chains with a large aesthetic lock that gleamed with light.

Cloud was now confused and suddenly had a sinking suspicion that what ever intentions the light had with him was going to have a sever impact on his life, and possibly others.

Sora walked over to the door and looked it over. Cloud came to stand next to him also inspecting the door with weary eyes. The wielder of the Keyblade took two steps back and lifted said weapon up towards the lock as rays of light gathered at its tip. A beam of light shot into the lock and a thick click was heard. The lock fell away, disappearing before it could hit the ground. The heavy doors creaked open slowly to reveal a massive helix of swirling of colors and light.

"It this... the Door to Light? Or the maybe even the Door to Kingdom Hearts?" Cloud asked

Sora chuckled and shook his head at both questions. "No, this is the Gates of Time." Cloud looked down at Sora questioningly. The boy grinned mischieviously. "The Light told me to open it and send you through." With that said, Sora gave Cloud a rough shove forward.

Cloud gave a surprised yelp as he fell through.

As the door began to close behind him, Cloud could hear Sora shout, "The Light is giving you a chance to fix your life and the lives of others, Cloud! Have fun in the past! I'll see you soon!" The doors then shut completely with a loud thud and all Cloud could do was watch as images of events, places, and people rushed past him. Then an unnatural tiredness pulled at his mind and body before he succumed to it's power and everything went black.

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**Hello everybody! Welcome to another of my fics. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. This fic came out of nowhere, I just suddenly got the urge to write it. I've been wanting to write a fic on FFVII or a KH2 fic for a while, I just never found time or knew how to start one. Yes, this is a Zack/Cloud fic. If you don't like it, then tough nuts. What the heck are you doing in the zack/cloud section if you don't? I happen to like the pairing and I'm a pretty open minded person about yaoi and other things. I plan on writing at least twenty chapters on this one, more if needed or if I'm up to it. I should also be coming out with a few more fics soon so be on the look out. Reviews are my motivation as a writer so please send me some! See you again sometime!**


	2. Home Is Where The Heart Is

_**Requiem of The Past**_

**Welcome back everyone! Good to see you all again. Now before we start I have one thing to say "... ... ..." That all! Now get reading!**

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Cloud's eyes opened slowly as he came to. The blond's hand found its way to his throbbing head only to find a bandage wrapped around it.

"What the..." _'How'd that get there? Am I hurt?'_ Cloud had a headache, sure, but was it really neccesary to put a bandage on his head? Aerith probably did that. She was always mother henning him whenever he got even the slightest injury. Cloud rolled his eyes at the thought before looking around. That when he first noticed something was not right. "Where am I?"

Sitting up in bed Cloud found himself in a place that was not what he expected to wake up in. The room was familiar, frightingly so. It looked too much like his childhood bedroom. The very same bedroom that was burned to the ground along with the rest of his former house, hometown, and his... mother.

The young man frowned deeply, he had a sudden urge to maim someone. Badly. "If this is someone's twisted idea of a joke, I swear I'll gut him." he muttered darkly as he angrily threw the covers away and stood.

The action of standing hit Cloud with a sudden sense of vertigo. The blond stumbled backwards onto the bed again and waited until the room stopped spinning. When Cloud was able to compose himself he got up again. Slowly this time.

The swordsman walked over to one of the two little windows the room had that had been left slightly open to let freash summer air in and looked outside. What he saw nearly shocked the living life out of him. It was Nibelheim! Not the faux one Shin-Ra had built after Sephiroth had went insane, but the original one, the one he grew up in. But it was impossible! He saw his hometown burn. He heard the dieing screams of the villagers when they were being cut down. He smelt the nausiating scent of spilt blood. He felt the cold empty feeling of the night after having the people he actually cared for ripped away.

But Cloud knew, he could see the familiar faces of the adults and children he lived with, that had bullied and shunned him as a child. The homes that Shin-Ra tried to duplicate but never truely could. Cloud backed away from the window. This had to be an illusion, or a dream! It _couldn't_ be real! Not anymore!

That's when the small desk over near the corner by the second window caught his eye. Nailed just above it was a calender. Cloud hurrily walked over to it and checked the date. It read July 10th, two years before he enrolled into the SOLDIER progam at Shin-Ra! Cloud pratically ran to his closed door where a full length mirror hung off of.

Cloud wanted to scream when he saw his reflection. No longer did he see a battle hardened young man in his early-mid twenties wearing all black with short spiky hair and brightly lit Mako eyes. Now he saw a scrawny young teenager who was too small for his age in a light summer t-shirt and shorts with long hair that fell loose and cascaded halfway down his back who's eyes, if you looked close enough, held only a hint of a Mako induced glow.

"What the hell is going on!" Cloud asked himself. Then it finally struck him. _'... Sora...'_

_"No, this is the Gates of Time."_

_"The Light told me to open it and send you through."_

_"The Light is giving you a chance to fix your life and the lives of others, Cloud! Have fun in the past! I'll see you soon!"_

"Why that little..." Cloud sat back down on his bed and rubbed his face. "I'll have to remember to thank him next I see him." The now teenage Cloud smirked. So the Light wasn't pleased with how Cloud's life had been going so they granted him a second chance to correct it before it went strait to hell.

Cloud couldn't help but to brood a little on the possibilities. Of course he'd have to be subtle about it. From what Merlin had told him about time travel, it could be just as much a dangerous thing as it could be helpful. It was not wise to think lightly of it or take advantage of it in the wrong ways. With each alteration he made, a concequence, be they good or bad, would follow. He had to be extremly careful about what he would say to people and do from now on. He also had to make sure nobody knew anything about what was going on until it was time for them to know. Now that he was given a chance to make things right and he wasn't going to blow it. Maybe this time around he would be able to save Aerith and Zack's lives or even keep Sephiroth away from the darkness.

It was in that moment the door to his bedroom opened. Cloud turned and froze. Standing at the door was one of the most beloved people he had ever had. "M-mother?" the boy choked on the word.

It was her, Cloud could never forget the face of the woman who raised him and held such unconditional love for him. In all his fagmented memories from earlier years past, she was one of the few people who stood out in them the most. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her to be. Miss. Strife was an average sized woman with ligtly tanned skin and long hair the color of molten gold pulled into a loose ponytail. She wore a light cream colored short sleeved shirt and long airy brown skirt with a white apron tied around her waist.

Warm brown eyes widened slightly at the sight of Cloud sitting up right and awake in bed before Lanette Strife rushed over to her son. She placed the basin bowl in her hands down on the nightstand before she lowered herself to his eye level. "Cloud, sweetheart, are you okay? How do you feel?" she asked, worry clear in her soft voice, as she placed a hand on the boy's cheek.

Cloud felt like a rock had lodged itself in his throat. All he could do was stare wide eyed at the woman before his emotions finally caught up with him as tears he thought had long ago dried up began to stream down his face.

Lanette's concern for her only son heightened when he began to cry before it turned to suprise when the boy suddenly threw himself into her arms. The force he came at her with was enough to knock her on he rear end. The boy buried himself as deeply as he could into her form. His arms wrapped around her middle with a nearly bone crushing strength as he hugged her fiercely, as if afraid she'd disappear. Miss. Strife was slightly alarmed, not knowing where this was all coming from, but when she felt hard sobs rake through Cloud's body her motherly instincts to comfort her child kicked in.

"... M-mom..."

Miss. Strife's arms pulled her son closer as the boy curled up under her. She stroked the boy's back and head soothingly.

"It's alright Cloud... I'm here."

* * *

It had been nearly a week so far after his emotional breakdown and Cloud was slowly falling back into swing of being a regular kid again after so many years of shouldering the duel responsibilites of being both an adult and a hero. Cloud had stayed in most of those days, spending as much time with his mother as possible. He wasn't fully ready to face the world outside the front door just yet.

His mother had asked him about his outburst the day he woke up and after a small amount of stumbling over a few ideas he gave her the excuse of a extremly horrible nightmare where she had been taken away from him and never came back. It wasn't really a lie, it was more an edited truth actually. She had took it cuddling him and whispering words of reassurance in his ear. Also, faking slight memory loss, Cloud asked why was there a bandage on his head.

Miss. Strife frowned as she told him he'd gotten into a fight again with a several local boys again. One of them had thrown a rock and pegged him in the back of his head before she noticed what was going on. When she had gotten to him he was bleeding badly and she had rushed him to the doctor's house. He had slept for nearly four days after that.

His mother had told him she had laid into all the guilty party and their parents harshly for it and threatened to call the authorities if they had ever came near her home again.

Cloud nodded, frowning with annoyance. No wonder he was having off and on headaches every few hours. He was forever grateful for having such a protective loving mother, no matter how vain her attempts to shield him were. He knew that after things cooled down with his mom those boys would be back at picking on him. Of course now that he could defend himself properly he wasn't going to let them walk all over him anymore, not that he let them before.

As Cloud finished off his breakfast he was planning his trainning scheduale to begin reshaping his teenage body. As much as he liked being younger again, he hated how frail his body was. He had, naturally, grown accustumed to his inhanced adult body that he had to remember that this one was no where nearly as powerful. It annoyed him, but it gave him something to work on until he would go to Midgar to registured for the SOLDIER progam. It'd give him a better head start on his physical strength and endurance. Of course he knew he wouldn't make SOLDIER ranks no matter what or how hard he tried. There was no way around that. Unlike his adult body, his teenage one was intolerant to large doses of Mako and he knew he would no doubt suffer a server case of Mako Poisoning before he could stand the stuff again.

Luckily Cloud no longer cared much for SOLDIER like he used to, had no love for Shin-Ra, and he ran a sword through his infatuation with Sephiroth years ago. The only reason he was going was to save Zack and Aerith and many others like his mother, try to stablilize Sephiroth's mentality before Jenova got to him, regroup with AVALANCH, and put Shin-Ra out of commission.

Speaking of which... Cloud looked out the back kitchen window. From here he could see the hilltop where the Shin-Ra mansion was. Cloud stabbed his eggs forcefully as he growled at the building that stood atop it. That place was a den full of demons who masqueraded around in human flesh. Monsters who preformed the most painful and sadistic acts of torture in the name of science. He needed to get rid of it and the library inside of it quickly before Sephiroth could ever reach it. He also needed to free Vincent from his long confining sleep.

He'll do it tomorrow night. The weather reporter did say that a thunder storm would be rolling in soon. He'd make it look like an act of nature. He'll go in, rescue Vincent, cast a thunder or a fire spell, destroy the mansion, and make it look like he wasn't anywhere near it. Cloud wouldn't really need to go out and buy any Materia. That would only link him to what he was going to do. He had learnded a few things about casting various magic spells without the help of those little Mako made balls from Merlin.

The old wizard had been very adverse about using Materia to the point of throwing almost all of them out with the exception of the Summoning and Cure Materias. Those were only saved because Summoning Materia were natural and the Cure Materia were very helpful and not than distructive. Though Merlin never touched the man-made Materia.

As he threw out most of them he said, "_Those accursed _**things**_ should not exist unless made naturally! The blood of your world was stolen to make those. Heed me, they are tainted!_"

Cloud and the others had spent the better part of a year learning the bases of magic, how to focus and create it, and how cast the spells after that. Merlin had drilled them almost everyday on their knowledge and ability to use magic. Even learing how to draw it directly out of natrue itself. Cloud had become as much a good spellcaster as a swordsmen from then on. This also gave him an advantage over everyone else here in his world. They needed Materia to use magic, he didn't.

He was braught out of his musing by his mother telling him to go get ready so they could visit the market.

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**Thanks for reading! Keep sending reviews and I'll see you again.**


	3. Red Hot Valentine

**Requiem of The Past**

**Welcome back everyone. It's nice to see y'all again! I've gotten a ton of hits but hardly any reviews. How's a writer suppose to know if ya like the stuff ya read if you don't say anything?! Oh well, at least you guys read it. Any who, heres the next chapter, enjoy!**

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It was was getting late and it was almost time for Cloud to head home. He had spent most of the afternoon outside. Before he left he told his mother he needed to get out for a while and do something instead of being indoors or head die from bordom and that he'd go exploring the foresty foothills of the mountains. She let him out hesitently but only after he promised to stay away from the boys who he had fought with.

He had spent some time in town before he made like he headed for the forest for everyone outside to see, but when he cleared the first few feet of trees and shubbery, Cloud had circled around the outskirts of the town until he came to the hill where the Shin-Ra Manor sat. The tall black and thick iron gate and brick wall that surrounded the perimeter couldn't stand against Cloud. There had been a thick chain and pad-lock keeping the gates closed and the mansion isolated, but all it took was a quick, small burst of Cloud's magic to destroy it and the blond passed through and walked up the path to the front door. Along the way Cloud had sure he brought everything he would need when he would rescue Vincent and packed it all in a bookbag.

Heavy dark clouds had just begun to glide in over the peeks of the surrounding mountains by the time the sun was beginning to set and the crashing sounds of thunder could be heard loudly somewhere out in the distance. A light drizzle had been falling most of the grey late afternoon and had progressed into a hard rain not long after Cloud made it to the mansion porch.

That had been a while ago.

Now Cloud could be seen walking through the halls of the mansion rubbing his arm where a dull pain still throbbed. A monster has managed to get the drop on him and slashed his arm before he faught it off Before he began his trip down to the basement where his vampier-like friend was, Cloud had gone up stairs to the attic to find a few things like some of Vincent's guns and a few other items, which were now tucked away in the backpack he wore. No need to waste such handy iteams, right? Cloud had made sure he grabbed Vincent's Cerberus and as much ammo as he could. However, to get all this Cloud had to get past a few monsters that had inhabited the mansion over the years.

As good a fighter as he was, Cloud didn't have his prefered weapon of choice, a Buster sword, with him. Sure he had used one of the guns he pick up in the attic and was good with firearms but he relied mostly on his magic. Even then his attacks weren't as devistating as he would have liked them to be.

Materialess magic put more a strain on the mind than it did the body, however if the body lacked the endurance needed he couldn't to preform his most powerful attacks.

Cloud muttered to himself as he walked down the steps of the secret passage way he remembered as he held his flashlight out infront of him. Thinking back, Cloud knew Vincent's stone casket was on the lowest floor in the basement in a hidden room.

The blond couldn't wait to burn this place down. A shiver ran up his spine as he passed by laboratories, particulary the ones with Mako chambers. Barely recognizable peices of his memories about this place that had been surpressed flashed through his mind. Cloud suddenly found himself thankful he couldn't remember every little detail of his life. It would have driven him insane a long time ago.

As Cloud tried to block out the phantom screams of the past Cloud hadn't noticed he come to the disguised entrance. Shaking off the memories and focusing on the present, Cloud opened the way in and walked though the threshold.

* * *

Eyes the color of red wine slowly opened from years of restless sleep. Their eerie red glow would make one think they were looking into the eyes of a feirce best in the shadows. The darkness he found himself in could best be discribed as stiffling, yet just as welcomed. He had no idea how long he had been asleep and he didn't want to know either. What had woken him was the sound of something or someone beating relentlessly on the lid of his stone coffin.

"Hey, you awake yet in there?" came a muffled voice.

He made no effort to respond. By the sound of the voice it was male, but not one he could recognize, it was probably another scientist looking to preform more experiments on him. It didn't matter anyway. He would not leave this place wether he wanted to or not. As badly as he wished he could fight them, he knew _that man _had ways of containing him whenever he had him removed him from this personal hell and into a much crueler one. It happens everytime.

That said, he simply waited.

After a moment nothing happened. Then the knocking resumed, albiet more aggressively. "... Am I going to have to come in there or what?! You're being rude making me wait you know? I know you're awake in there by now."

This... was something new. Usually the dogs of Shin-Ra would have ripped the lid off and dragged him out by now.

"Fine then."

A low grindding echoed loudly as the stone lid was sowly pushed away. Light assulted and burned his oversensitive eyes almost immediatly. The light wasn't really all that bright, but it was still enough to hurt his eyes. They had grown too used to the absolute darkness that surround him constantly.

He felt a pair of small hands grab his shoulders far more gently than usual and pulled him into a sitting position before they released him.

"How lazy of you." The male voice said as Vincent tried to gain his barings. It sounded fairly young and carried a slighty high pitched tone but not by too much which made the dark haired man think he was dealing with a teenage boy. But also, what was a teenage boy doing_ here_ of all places? "Won't even lift a finger to help when you're being rescued."

Vincent squinted at his new found companion, his vision starting to become more focused. "... Rescued?" his voice was gratting. Disuse and dryness made it sound gritty and hoarse.

The boy nodded as he rummaged through a small backpack he had. The boy's features becoming sharper and more define to Vincent. He could make out spiky blond hair and blue eyes so far among other things, but his image was still a little blurry.

"Yeah, you've been shut up down here for a long time now." he said as he produced a bottle and handed it to Vincent. "Here, drink this, it's water. Your throat'll feel better."

Vincent frowned at the information but still took the water. "How long?" he asked before he drank from the bottle, draining it all in four long gulps. He could feel the cool liquid refreash his dry throat immediatly.

The blond took a moment to think. "... According to Hojo's documents I found... I'd say about twenty-seven years. Give or take a few months."

Valentine's lips pursed and his mind reeled. Twenty-seven years he had been trapped? It was more than a little unexpected and just as unbelievanble. He had thought when the man, Hojo, had sealed him up, it would only be for a short time until he was needed for more experimentations and the like. Vincent couldn't even begin to fathem how he had survived such a long period of inactivity with no food or drink. Such a thing would kill a man in less than a month! Just what the hell did Hojo do to him? He was aware of the more obvious alterations to his body like the gold claw and gauntlet that replaced his left hand and arm, the demons he now played host to, and the augmentations to enhance his natural abilites. Other than that, he didn't know what else Hojo had done to him.

An awkward silence had descended between the two. Vincent took the moment to study the boy hovering above him now that he could see him properly. He was short and had a lithe body with a soft face that looked more feminine than masculine. The kid looked around thirteen. He wore a loose blue t-shirt and a pair of baggy brown pants held up by a belt with a pack on his back. The kid had long hair pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his skull while his bangs defied all the laws of gravity as the stood up strait in spikes. There was also a white bandage wrapped around his head suggesting he had been injured recently. With all this the boy could easily pass for a tomboyish female at first glance. If it weren't for his voice Vincent would have certainly thought he was a she. However, this wasn't what drew the former Turk's attention the most, it was the child's eyes.

In all the black darkess around him Vincent could plainly see the boy's eyes glow faintly. This puzzled the future AVALANCH member's mind. The boy had Mako eyes?! There was no way he could be a SOLDIER! It was impossible. Shin-Ra may not have had much morality when it came to people, but surely they wouldn't use children in their experiements... would they?

Their must have been a good reason for the boy's Mako eyes.

"Will you hurry up and get out of there already!" he urged, tugging on Vincent's red cloak. "I don't have time to sit here chit chat all night."

Vincent looked sharply at the blond. "Why should I? Who says I want to leave?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

The boy gave the older man a patient, yet annoyed look. "I'm about to send this place to the deepest pits of Hell where it belongs. I won't let you die with it." he explained slowly as if talking to a child.

The old Turk turned away. "Then go ahead." Vincent lifted his claw and studied it. "I've done too much and now I have to repent for it." he said grimly. "If death or spending an eternity in this iscolated darkness is what it takes to atone for my sins then I will repay the debt."

The blond gave a low growled. "Idiot," he muttered. "So that's your excues, huh? You're repenting? News flash, there are people who've done worse things than you but still manage to find a way to redeem themselves and walk in the light. I know, I've seen it done."

Vincent shook his head. "I barely feel human anymore... The world would be better off without a cursed monster like me." he argued back.

"What makes you think you're the monster? All I see is a man who had been terribly wronged. If anyone's the real monster, it's Hojo." Vincent looked back up to the boy. "You're more humane than he is. Even if his experiement causes people to suffer pain or die, as long as it satisfies his scientific curiousity he won't care. You're just another victim to his cruelty."

Vincent studied the child once more. There was a fire in his eyes and he spoke with such conviction and passion it almost made the dark haired believe the boy also experienced the mad scientist's experiements.

The blond looked at Vincent, his eyes almost glaring hotly at him. "Instead of just hopelessly laying there letting yourself rot away, you should get up and do something about that... that... _Shiva_, I can't even call Hojo a man! It'll feel like I'm betraying the rest of humanity by saying it." He spat as if the 'good' doctor's name was poison in his mouth before looking back down at the gunner. "Get back at him for hurting you! Stop him from doing it to more innocent people! There are others who suffered because of him! Don't let him get away with it!"

Vincent stared thoughtfully at the boy for a moment. He had made quite a few points. Then the image of a smiling woman with long brown hair crossed his mind. _Lucrecia.. what would you do?_ With that thought in mind, Vincent made his decision. "... What's your name?"

The blond gave a small smirk, as if knowing he had won the former Turk over. "My name is Cloud Strife." He said offering a hand.

The older man took the smaller hand into his own normal one before he stood slowly and stepped out of the coffin. "Vincent Valentine." Cloud nodded and led Vincent out of the room.

As the two walked through the passage ways leading to the upper floors of the mansion, Cloud had long since pulled out a large bottle of lighter fluid and left a trail of the clear flammible liquid behind them.

Vincent, who watched the boy work, broke the silence, needing to ask one of the hundreds of questioned that had been nagging at him. "Tell me, why do you want to destroy this mansion? Not that I care for it."

A dark look overtook Cloud's face. "It's not so much the mansion itself I want to get rid of, it's the labs and library under it that's got to go." he aswered through clenched teeth. The red and black clad man nodded to this. "Shin-Ra created some off the worst kinds of monsters in this place. It's better to burn it all to ashes before they has a chance to make something truely terrible... something like a true living nightmare." he said, the last of his sentence came out as soft as a whisper. It was a strait forward answer but still vague in a way.

The kid knew of the kinds of dangers this place represented and wanted it gone. Vincent couldn't find any fault with that kind of logical thinking. In fact he agreed with it.

The duo was already on the main floor by the time Cloud had finishd the bottle off. The near fifty year old Turk spoke again. "I need to get my guns before we leave. They're locked up in the attic." he stated.

The blond looked over his shoulder and smirked. "No they're not." The taller man looked at Cloud questioningly. "I made a quick detour up there before I went to find you." He took off and patted his backpack. "I got them right here. I checked them out myself, I left only the ones that were too rusty to be used and took the ones that in good condition. I only found seven up there and three didn't work properly. I also grabb as much ammo as I could so you don't need to worry about it." he explained as he once again began digging through his back. "If don't like the guns or run out of bullets, there's a weapons shop in town you could always visit. The owner is a nice enough guy, you might be able to cut a deal with him."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. Cloud apperently was someone who had enough sense to have of foresight in the things he did. But all this made another of the fifty-four year-old's question surface. "How do you know so much about me?" he asked, sounding more harshly than intended.

The blond hardly looked at Vincent as he answered without missing a beat. "Hojo's files on you also came with your background reports, so yeah, I know you're a Turk and specialized in firearms." Then he pulled a long triple-barrel gun from his bag. It was polished, and black with silver designs. At the end of each barrel was the figures heads of three hellhound Cerburus, and there was also a matching charm of the mythical guard dog of Hades dangling off a chain on the handle. The weapon looked as if time had never touched it. "Here, out of all the guns I found it had the heaviest locks on it."

"Cerberus... how _kind_ of that bastard to save it for me." The older man said sarcastically as he took the gun and examined it throuroughly for a moment, checking the barrel and gears in the pistol. When he was satisfied he placed it in the holster on his upper right thigh.

When the two walked outside, not bothering to close the door, Cloud found it was raining just as hard as it was when he first went in. It had become cold and nearly pitch dark outside with only the occassional lightning strikes to light the world of night. Cloud then went though his bag once more and pulled out a raincout before looking up at Vincent. "Want one? I came with two."

Vincent eyed the boy. Cloud was very prepared when he came to get him. Vincent shook his head no. Really he didn't need or want one. But now he was wondering how the boy planned to destroy the manor given the weather. The most effective way would be to use Fire or Fira Materia. Magicked elements proved to be more potent and resilient against natural ones.

After shrugging and slipping on the coat, Cloud stood and held his hand up in front of him as if holding something and began to breathe deeply and slowly as he focused on his inner most energy and body heat. When he felt it, he began to pull it to the surface.

Vincent watched carefully, wanting to see what the boy was doing. He got his answer s he felt the surrounding area begin to heat up. A spark jumped to life in his hands and soon a small ball of fire appeared from it. The fireball grew larger and larger until it was the size of his head.

The only sign of shock former Turk offered was the slight widening of his eyes and the raising of his eyebrows. Cloud was able to preform Materialess magic! How was that possible? He hadn't heard of anyone who could do such a thing since magic was first discovered. Maybe people learned how over his time asleep?

Small beads of sweat began to form on Cloud's brow in the effort to create and sustain the fireball. His body wasn't very used to this kind of magic just yet even though he did practice what he knew a few times in the privacy of his bedroom, late at night when his mother was asleep, or when he was out in his secret training area. He had found a nice little clearing near the mountain foothills with a river not too long ago. But this was as far as he would go, he still needed enough energy to call down a few bolts of lightning on the mansion.

Cloud then threw the fiery ball into the house. The furniture inside caught fire quickly and began to burn just as fast. Fire then spang to life and snaked its way to the basement facilities down below when stray embers landed on the trail of lighter fluid. Nodding at his handy work, Cloud then walked a few paces away from the old manor, Vincent trotting right behind him. Once the two were a safe distence away, Cloud turned to face the mansion. Vncent looked on, wondering what the boy would do next.

Cloud raised a hand up high over his head and focused again, this time on the clouds above... or more specifically, in the clouds above. Flashes of ightning and the sounds of clashing thunder grew more frequent as Cloud concentraited. With a loud crack, a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky. The blond had ordered down the high voltage bolt onto of the mansion's roofs, blowing out one in the proccess.

The two watched the den of nightmares burn away

Faintly lit Mako eyes looked up at Vincent. "So, what will you do now?"

The vampire like man looked at Cloud. "... I'm not sure yet."

"You could come to my place until you're ready to go."

Vincent raised a questioning eyebrow. "What about your parents? Won't they say something about me staying?"

Cloud shrugged. "My mom's to nice to turn away a gil-less traveler who ran out of supplies while in the traveling through the mountains. The guy was really lucky that I just so happened to run into him on my way back home." he said as innocently as a child his age should be. Vincent nodded in approval at the cover story. "Just don't let her see the gun when we get there or she'll have a fit." Cloud warned as the two made their way back into town.

_'That's two things to check off my "To-Do-List.'_ the blond thought to himself. _'Now I just have to get through a few years of being regular old Cloud without raising anyone's suspicions and then it's off to Midgar.'_

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**Another day, another chapter. How'd ya like it... or don't like it, whatever. Thank for reading, and don't skimp out on the reviews! Bye!**


	4. How Fair Things Are

**Requiem of The Past**

**Hello everyone, nice to see you all again. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update, so since I know y'all just want to read, heres a new chapter.**

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Cloud yawned loudly as he stepped off the bus and stetched his stiff body. The blond coughed when he got a lungful of polluted Midgar air. He was suddenly reminded of another reason why he didn't particularly like the city and wondered idlely how he was able to live in it for so long.

The two years Cloud had been in Nebeliem had gone by far too fast for his liking but it did go relitively smoothly.

When Cloud brought Vincent home, his mother had taken to the older man well while the dark man himself was hesitent to even approuch the Strife household. His mother had almost literaly dragged the hellhound of AVALANCH out of the pouring rain and into the house after Cloud handed her the story he and Vincent agreed on using.

Vincent found out just how pushy his mom could be that day when she huled him upstairs, pushed him into the bathroom, forced him to strip his dripping wet clothes, and take a long hot bath as she threw his headband, shirt, pants, and cloak into the laundry for cleaning.

When the man came out hair and skin smelling of soap and tangerines, Lanette handed him some old cloths that once belonged to Cloud's father. Now from what little Cloud knew of his father, the man wasn't small by any means but he wasn't overly large either. He also knew that Vincent was a tall but thin man who's body was as lithe as his own.

Cloud could picture Cid's reaction if he had seen Vincent that night in clothes that were not only not black and red, but was also almost completely falling off him. Lanette then pulled Vincent back down stairs and sat him down in front of the warm fireplace and shoved a cup of steaming herbal tea in his hands while she went to the kitchen to cook dinner.

The blond chuckled at the memory. He had earned himself a red eyed glare that night when he was caught laughing at the older man's expense. He toned it down when Vincent's eyes started glowing but still snickered. Vincent seemed a little thrown that Cloud remained generally unphased by the unspoken threat.

From that day on Vincent had become an unofficial official member of the Strife family. Not long after his presence in the village had become known a few days after the news of the Shin-Ra mansion's burning quieted down. It happened when a pack of Nebel Wolves started harrassing the Chocobos in the town ranch. Vincent had been just passing by that day when he saw them and unloaded a few rounds in them. Both the mayor and ranch owner had thanked him well for his help. From there he had become the guy to go to when ever there was a monster problem. He made a small business out of it.

Also, during the two year wait, Cloud still got into the occasional fights with other kids in the village, as he predicted, but not as many as he used to. The gang of boys who always jumped him as a kid had quickly learned to keep their distance from him now if they didn't want to get hurt. Several times they tried to gang up on him when he wasn't around his mother or Vincent. Almost each time he fought them off Cloud had to remind himself that he wasn't an adult anymore and had to defend himself when he felt a pang of guilt fighting children.

Cloud had also made it imposible for anyone to get to the Mako reactor in the mountains directly from the town, forcing them to take a round about route, which was on the opposite side of the mountain from Nebeliem, and even then he set that up to be dangerous. On the direct path he collapsed the rope bridge that led strait to the reactor and weakened much of the surrounding rock faces so nobody would try to make the venture or could be able build another bridge, at least for a while. On the indirect path to the reactor Cloud had built nests to attract small groups monsters. The monsters that now inhabited the unbeaten path weren't strong enough to severly hurt anyone, but just enough ward away anyone who didn't have a decent amount of weapons and magic trainning or experience.

The day Cloud announced he was going to apply for SOLDIER was also a day he wouldn't forget. He'd done it over dinner one night a few months ago. His mother had been surprised, a little unsure, but overall happy to know he was making such huge decisions for his life and ready to shoulder the resposibilities that came with them. Vincent however was a different story. He was also surprised, confused, and was more than a little disappointed, but he masked it all well. The older man had gone silent and had given Cloud a look that would done a rock proud... at least until he looked the teen more closely in the eyes. What he saw was a lack of real emotion.

When some of the boys he heard in the village make the same annoucement to their friends and family they were full of pride, joy, confidence, and the look of fierce determination. While Cloud's voice sounded excited like all the other boys, his eyes reflected something different. Cloud knew he'd given the man the impression he was rolling his eyes in sarcassm at his own decloration.

Later that night, Vincent had come to his room looking for an explanation. Cloud had been sitting at one of his window looking up at the night sky when the dark man came in and stated rather bluntly, "_I hate Shin-Ra._"

Vincent had taken to leaning on the wall and folded his arms when he asked, "_Then why join them?_"

"_To get bck at them._" he answered. "_Shin-Ra's not easy to bring down. Simply blowing up the reactors isn't enough, they'll just fix them and then make you out as some kind of terrorist, like the AVALANCH group._"

Vincent nodded, beginning to see what the boy was actually planning. "_So instead of attacking from the outside where their defenses are strongest, you attack at their weakest point, the inside._"

When Cloud turned to look at Vincent and for a moment he wasn't looking at a fifteen year old boy who was simply guessing potential outcomes of a plan, but a full grown man who knew what he was talking about through experience.

"_Exactly._"

"_This sounds pretty big, too big for just you alone. Any way I can help?_"

Cloud smirked. "_Yeah, do you think you can get in contact with a man named Barret Wallace? He's the leader of AVALANCH._"

The now teen's memories of that night had been interrupted when he was pushed forward by other imptient bus passengers when he stopped infront of the bus' doorway. With a quick apology the blond hitched his dufflebag higher on his shoulder and quickly navigated his way to the train station to catch a ride up to the plate.

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The front of the Shin-Ra military building was packed with young people from all over wanting to join its army; a few wanting to be just troopers, some looking to be one of the Turks, and most aiming for the slim chance of joining the SOLDIER program. That was how the group of young men and occassional women were divided up, standing in three long lines waiting to sign up or liotering around waiting to be let in.

The recruits were all eyeing the SOLDRIERs that dotted around the compound in nervous awe. Some were out right staring while others were taking little 'sneak' peeks. The SOLDIERs in turn were also checking out the newest batch fresh blood with a mixture of amusment and actual interest, no matter how little it was. However, out of all the inhanced humans there, none of them were more interested in the recruits than one certain violet eyed First Class SOLDIER with long spiky dark haire. This certain SOLDIER's name was Zachary Fair.

In all truth Zack was interested in only one of the new recruits.

Zack had been on his way out to the slums for a night out at one of the bars he and some of his drinking buddies usually haunted. It was Friday after all and it was beginning to get late in the afternoon. He had just walked out, going unnoticed because he was wearing civies instead of his usual uniform with a pair of shades over his Mako eyes, and took a moment to look at all the waiting new recruits. The boy was just ildely leaning against building's wall with folded arms when the SOLDRIER spotted him.

While the one Zack was looking at was a little guy, there were a few things about him that made him stand out. His hair for one thing was as spiky as his own and was a golden blond color. In Midgar there weren't many natural blonds walking around; mostly black, brown, and the occasional redhead. The blond suddenly reminded the dark haired teen of a Chocobo. The kid looked a bit young but he was also easily one of the cutest recruits Zack ever laid eyes on. In fact he almost looked like a girl with his lean, slightly curved body, fair skin, and had wide, innocent eyes that were a pretty shade of blue. There was also one other thing Zack noticed about the kid, and that he could best be discribed as aloof. So much so it almost reminded him of Sephiroth, just not as imposing. When others tried to talk to him he gave them the cold shoulder and the brush off as though they weren't worth using his breath on. Mind, half the things Zack heard being said to him didn't sound very nice.

Zack had been staring at the blond for almost ten minutes by the time the recruits were all called in. Zack was just about to leave as well when the boy suddenly turned and looked strait at him. The blond frowned at the older boy in a -what are you looking at?- type of way and rolled his eyes before turning to go in. For a moment, Zack could have sworn he saw the kid's lips quirked up into a small smile as the younger boy walked away.

The Gongagan grinned as he watched the blond go before heading towards the train station himself. He hoped he'd see him more often. Zack felt he just had to get know the adorable little blond.

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**Again, sorry for the long wait. It was totally my fault... I also had a writer's block. For the life of me I couldn't think of what to write next. I mean, I could see how I wanted my story to finish and all that, it's the getting there that stumpes me sometimes. Anyway, chapter four is completed and posted while chapter five is still in the workshop but exect it soon. See ya!**


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